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5 for 5: Key takeaways from April's digital signage Top 5

Lessons gleaned from the articles readers were most interested in during the month of April.

May 8, 2013 by Christopher Hall

April was a mixed bag for digital signage, judging by the most-read stories of the month on DigitalSignageToday.com.

The top story of the month was potentially good news, with word that static signage companies are renewing a previously dormant (or sluggish at best) move into the digital signage space. This isn't the first time that bell's been rung, apparently, but judging by the attention the story garnered and the chatter surrounding the idea and this year's ISA International Sign Expo 2013, perhaps this time will be different.

(Let us know why or why not in the comments below. We're curious to know what you, the reader, think about it.)

Three of the top five stories again were somber ones, with a look at a fatal airport digital signage accident that was in March's top five remaining well-read, and with two articles about the role of digital billboards in providing critical emergency messaging during a time of crisis and helping to track down the suspects in the horrific Boston Marathon bombing.

The top five was rounded out by an old digital signage standard, a look at digital signage in retail.

So what are the lessons to be learned or key takeaways from the top stories of April? Here then are five for five, five takeaways from the top five most-read stores of the month:

1. Dynamic signage (what the static sign people call it) or digital signage (what digital signage people call it, for now anyway) is starting to become something to which the sign industry in general is starting to pay more attention. How that shakes out is still anybody's guess, but when FASTSIGNS and others are saying their customers are asking for digital signage, so they'd better provide it or they could end up losing both the dynamic *and* static sign business of some of their clients, that's strong stuff.

2. Digital billboards are divisive, still, and some people don't like them, still — but, they also pretty clearly can provide some significant benefits to communities. Clear Channel Outdoor Boston used its digital billboards to provide important information to the public during the Boston bombing, such as warning drivers to stay away from the site, and helped in the manhunt later in the week for the two bombing suspects by plastering their faces all over the city on digital billboards.

3. Safety is an issue that still resonates. The digital signage industry has been sterling in this regard so far, but having one contractor/installer/integrator who doesn't take simple, should-be-obvious precautions to make sure the displays or enclosures are properly mounted and secured can be a fatal problem. The public may take it for granted that the displays hanging from ceilings in convention centers or mounted on walls in airports are securely mounted, but the industry has to be sure.

4. Retail is still big. E-commerce and m-commerce are getting top billing, but multiple reports indicate that for the foreseeable future brick-and-mortar will remain the undisputed king for shoppers themselves. In other words, the people who really matter, the customers, may not get as excited as we in the tech/consumer engagement sectors do about the latest bells and whistles, so don't forget to sell to them in the real world. And that's where digital signage thrives.

5. And digital signage is still big for retail. Omnichannel is the buzzword, and digital signage has a key role to play in any thorough and comprehensive omnichannel strategy, whether it's for retail, bank or corporate branding. It's becoming an essential part of the in-store experience, and it's also a key point to initialize the other channels, such as mobile and online, as a catalyst or agent for a call to action.

And here, in reverse order, are the top five most-read stories for the month of April on DigitalSignageToday.com:

5. "5 Keys for digital signage and omnichannel retail": Planning for digital signage and consumer engagement technologies should be a first step in new store design, accoridng to experts from Wireless Ronin Technologies.

4. "Boston bombing manhunt unfolds on digital billboards": Digital billboards in Boston played a key role in keeping the public informed in a time of crisis, and likely added to the pressure on the fugitives that may have led to their attempts to flee the city and their eventual capture.

3. "Airport digital signage accident a 'wake-up call'": A fatal accident involving airport digital signage prompts call for changes to safety standards and practices.

2. "Digital billboards respond to Boston Marathon bombing": Digital billboards lend a helping hand in Boston and from across the country.

1. "Static signage getting dynamic with FASTSIGNS/Glantz/Samsung deal": Samsung strikes deals with static sign franchisor and static sign distributor to provide dynamic digital signage.

Learn more about retail digital signage.